The benefits and challenges of AI are seemingly being discussed everywhere. In fact, the American Society for Public Administration focused much of its annual conference around this topic just a week ago.

But as of now, there’s been minimal concrete evidence about the impact of AI (which is hardly a surprise, given the crazy speed with which it’s being adapted).

That’s why a statement from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro at a Carnegie Mellon event in mid-March is so important. Through a September 2023, executive order the governor set his state forward on a path to explore the potential of AI, and then a few months later, he initiated the nation’s first pilot program in which it enabled employees – now 175 in all – to use ChatGPT in order to study how – and how well – it was used in their day to day work. 

As the Commonwealth explained in a report, “These employees volunteered to explore this new technology and ranged in age, job type, seniority, and experience with AI technology. It included participation from union covered employees. Notably, 48% of participants had never used ChatGPT before this pilot program.” 

According to PSHRA (Public Sector HR Association)“Shapiro noted that the pilot AI program found the use of AI saved employees an average of 95 minutes a day for tasks such as research summarization, code optimizing and writing.” That’s not to say that there are plans underway in the state to lay off employees who will be able to do their work more efficiently with AI, but rather they may be able to “handle the more complex cases, maybe spend more time on the phone or in person helping a fellow Pennsylvanian with their specific needs.”

Based on these findings it’s no surprise that when the first phase of this program comes to an end on May 31, the state will forge on by giving more employees access to ChatGPT.

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